Pages

Thursday, July 10, 2014

We are slowly but surely checking off our top five problem areas that I previously shared here. I started with a porch refresh and then moved to our main bathroom update. Today, I am thrilled to share that we finished organizing our garden shed as well!

But let's start from the beginning. This was not an overnight process, but once we got started, it was done within a few quick hours. A few weeks ago I went from problem space to problem space, just sorting things to the correct areas. Everything from around the house and the garage that was garden and yard maintenance related, was stuffed into our shed {and a few things that were in the shed were removed and placed back where they belonged as well}. After the big sort, here is how it was left.

Zero knowledge of where anything was or what we even had, but at least we now knew where to dig for gardening tools should we need something.

The very first step to any big organizing project is to remove everything and determine what you need to organize/store.

We picked through every last item and found a lot of duplicate yard tools {which will be gifted to family or placed for free on Craigslist}, and also moved a few other items to our donate pile.

Once we knew what was left to store and place back into the shed, we determined that a wall of pegboard would help keep our everyday yard tools easy to access. No more purchasing extra hose nozzles or sprinklers because they "walked away".

Then color challenge time came! You may remember a few of the other challenges I have participated in; pink, gold and purple. This round, we all decided to focus on something yellow. A color I don't use often, but tend to love due to the sunny and happy feeling it emotes.

Knowing that the shed was on our list and I wanted to find a way to incorporate the color in that space, I landed on the idea to add a decorative yellow stencil to the pegboard. This would give the garden shed a little extra dose of sweetness and hopefully help it to become a space I am excited to use and maintain, vs. avoid like I have been for the past few years.

Bryan measured and pre-cut two 4 x 4 ft pieces of pegboard down to accommodate the slope of the shed ceiling. We then placed the two pieces on a drop cloth on a level surface in the garage.

We also used some painters tape to hold the two pieces together to allow the stencil to flow seamlessly between them both. We went with Glidden's Lemon Ice and a fuzzy roller to get the nicest, thickest coverage.

To prevent the paint from seeping below the stencil, we sprayed the back with a light layer of spray adhesive. I highly recommend doing this step,

A few minutes later and we were well on our way to a pretty piece of yellow stenciled pegboard!

While the stencil dried, I brought a giant bucket of warm soapy water out to the yard and began scrubbing down everything {because it was all duuuuuuuusty}. Everything from flower food to seed spreaders to my garden shovel received a nice little bath. I love this step because everything goes back into the space looking nice and new. I also tossed extra rags and my gardening gloves into the washer. Sometimes it is the small details that are a huge impact to the end result.

We let the pegboard dry in the garage with a breeze blowing through, so it didn't take too long before Bryan was able to install it with simple wood screws.

By this time, the sun was shining directly into the shed, and it was glimmering in the light. The pegboard actually appeared iridescent in the sunlight which created a really neat effect with the stencil. Bryan also installed a few white cabinets that we had previously removed from above our workbench in our garage, as they were no longer needed there with the newly built overhead storage.

I told Bryan I wish I would have taken a time lapse video of us putting everything back. It was good fun and as always, my favorite part of the process.

We were able to utilize all of the walls for some sort of storage which allowed for us to park our rider and push mowers inside next to our garden wagon.

The entire shed is done out of 2x4 studs and plywood walls. To hold our tall yard tools, we screwed some hooks into the wall studs and strung twine between each hook. Worked like a charm.

We already had some old wire shelves installed on the opposite wall, they just received a little de-cluttering and sprucing up.

And a scrap piece of wood screwed between two studs allowed us to add larger screw in hooks to hold bulkier tools like our weed trimmer and leaf blower.

The back wall is my spot though. Can you guess why?

Seriously guys, it makes me want to go to gardening school.

Here is what I did.

On the left, seed spreaders and sprinklers were hung with peg hooks. The shelf below holds my watering can and a garden caddy. I just love how the caddy can be filled with my tools while I work on our yard or garden, and then everything can be put back when I am done.

The two cabinets Bryan installed were filled with all of the bulky items. The right side holds plant foods and weed killers while the left side is for my planters, cleaning rags, bug spray and sunscreen.

I also added a bottle of vinegar spray cleaner for those "just in case" moments. Because you know, things get dirty when you work on the yard.

I used my Silhouette to cut a few labels and attached them to the front of an acrylic organizer I found in the bathroom department at Target. The inner organizing nerd in me really came out because this is one of my favorite little touches.

I also used my Silhouette to label an empty paint can {found at Home Depot}, which is filled with bird seed.

And of course I painted the handle to the rake. Coral and yellow make my heart sing.

The wall to wall surface was already in place as it was installed as part of the shed kit, it just previously had been stacked with piles and couldn't be utilized for planting. Not anymore!

Below the counter is a small steel lidded bucket for trash and clean-ups and a plastic rolling cart which works great for storing opened bags of bulbs, soil and grass seed. Another tub of lawn care items and a seed spreader are also tucked away below.

And that completes the organized garden shed tour.

And a final before and after to celebrate together.

All we ended up purchasing were the two pieces of pegboard and the stencil paint, so I would say we definitely came out ahead on this project. I am a fan!

If you are loving yellow and looking for even more inspiring ways to use it around your home, check out these fabulous projects done by my talented friends below.

Absolutely! I am currently traveling without my laptop so will try and do it soon. The cart is from Target: http://m.target.com/mobile/p/iris-3-drawer-chest-with-natural-finish-top/-/A-10338802. Let me know if there is anything else in the meantime!

So cute! I love this! Our shed is metal, so we can't hang anything on the walls. :( But we do have some peg board in our garage I use to hang my garden tools. Love the idea to paint it white. Makes it so bright and cheery!

Hi Casey!I actually had purchased this stencil awhile back for a project I had in mind for our laundry room, but knew it would work great her as well: That is my hope! :) Stencil is from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JBW3DWU

I have read you can cut stencils with the Silhouette however and I am really excited to try it sometime!

Hi Jen, I love your blog! I found you about 6 months ago, when I was taking an 'organize your art biz' class, and i must have googled something that led me to you. I've subscribed ever since. I love your ideas, your photos and your fabulous tips. Thank you! Your blog really inspires me to be more organized, and in a beautiful way. Thanks sooo much! (I don't have a garden shed, but I do have a garage that could use some TLC!)

I don't recall the exact kit as we worked with a team from Home Depot long before my bloggin' days. :) They were wonderful to work with and my husband and his father had it assembled within one day and shingled the following. However, Home Depot also offers installation services as well I believe.

Wow! What a transformation! I LOVE that stencil, I am definitely going to get one! I didn't even know Amazon did Stencils! :) Loving the sunny yellow colour theme too, brightening things up makes your heart do a little happy dance and be more inclined to keep things tidy long term, I've found!

That looks gorgeous. Great ideas for when we finally get the cash to build a shed on our property. But I know if it were me and I had to shimmy past the riding mower every time I wanted to grab my garden tools they would end up in a heap in the front corner instead of neatly put away. I would probably add some pegboard to the back of the door for often used tools.

Can you explain the spray adhesive on the back of the stencil? won't it make it stick to the pegboard and leave a sticky layer? Just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly. I read this yesterday and bought peg board when I got off of work!

Just use a light layer of the spray adhesive and it won't permanently adhere if you work quickly. And the more you move it, the less sticky it becomes. I ended up only spraying it one time for the entire project and it worked great.

Absolutely exquisite! And you're pushing me to get a Silhouette. : ) One question - any reason you didn't want to paint the walls? (Confession: as an architectural color consultant I tend to want to paint everything.)

I really thought about it since I rarely leave spaces/walls unfinished. But we really just wanted to get the space organized for now, paint may come later once the garage and storage room are finished. I also worried that with the amount of traffic the interior receives, that the plywood would walls and floor would eventually show wear and chipping and require a lot of maintenance. So only time will tell I suppose. :)

I am a faithful reader of yours and in a way, you have inspired me to start my own organizing blog & business! I have a technical question....how do you create your before & after pictures, and how do you add text? I have heard of a few apps that are helpful with collages - InstaCollage and DipTic - but wondered what you use. Thank you!!!

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in the conversation! I read and sincerely appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious or spam like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, and criticism/feedback is best received when shared constructively. This blog is my happy slice of the internet, let's keep it that way!